Just declare it. It'll save huge dollars

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SAULT STE. MARIE - In January, CBSA officers conducted approximately 724 secondary examinations for customs purposes or on behalf of other government departments, initiated four seizure actions for various offences and issued additional written warnings for undeclared or undervalued goods.

On January 17, two returning Canadian residents each declared a snowmobile purchased in the United States and paid the applicable taxes.

After further processing, officers discovered that a trailer was also purchased in the United States for US$800 but was not declared.

The trailer was seized for the offence of non-report and was released back to one of the travellers upon payment of a $472.80 penalty.

Had the trailer been properly declared, the applicable taxes would have amounted to approximately $40.

On January 26, the Sault Ste. Marie POE (port of entry) received a tip claiming that individuals were spotted removing tags, opening boxes then hiding items in a vehicle.

When the vehicle in question arrived at the POE, the occupants declared US$600 worth of skating costumes which they paid taxes on.

Officers then conducted a search of the vehicle and found $404.22 worth of undeclared goods.

The items were seized for non-report and were released back to the travellers upon payment of a $294.39 penalty.

Had all the goods been declared properly, the applicable taxes would have amounted to approximately $52.

Travel tips

The CBSA reminds all travellers to truthfully declare all purchases and goods, including firearms and weapons.

Smuggling, undervaluation and other Customs Act offences may lead to seizure and/or prosecution in a court of law.

Certain foreign nationals who do not meet the requirements to overcome their criminal inadmissibility may be allowed to enter Canada with a one-time only fee-exempt temporary resident permit.

For more information, please visit the Citizenship and Immigration Canada website.

Anyone with information about suspicious cross-border activity is encouraged to call the CBSA Border Watch toll-free line at 1-888-502-9060.